The State Is Mailing Letters About Your Lost Money. Treasurer Goldberg Says They're Not a Scam
The 'Claim Mass Money' pilot uses LexisNexis data to verify about 5,000 people owed up to $2,500 and sends them a QR code and claim ID. More than 61,000 claims qualified for fast-track handling last fiscal year.
The Massachusetts Treasury has started mailing letters to residents it has matched with unclaimed property, rather than waiting for them to search its database.
Treasurer Deborah Goldberg's office announced the pilot, called "Claim Mass Money," on Monday, WBUR reported. It starts with about 5,000 people matched to unclaimed property worth up to $2,500. Goldberg said she hopes to expand it if the test gets a good response.
The process is meant to be short. The office uses LexisNexis data to verify the identities of people with unclaimed property, then mails them a letter with a QR code and a unique claim ID that leads to a streamlined online process. "There's no need to do a search, no need to put your name in," Goldberg said. "It will take you right to the page, ask a few questions, and — boom — we'll be able to send the check right out."
Unclaimed property includes uncashed checks, forgotten tax refunds, stock dividends and unpaid wages, among other things. According to Goldberg's office, property typically becomes "unclaimed" when the holder cannot contact the owner for three years.
The office said more than 61,000 claims were eligible for its existing fast-track process in the last fiscal year, which suggests the pilot could grow well beyond its first 5,000 letters.
The obvious risk is that residents mistake a real letter for a scam, especially when fraudulent texts and emails claiming to be from government agencies are common. "I want to make sure that people know it's not a fraud," Goldberg told WBUR. "It's going to depend a lot on people believing it's real." She said the letters will carry her office's return address and direct people to FindMassMoney.gov, the state's official unclaimed property site.
Residents who do not get a letter can still search the database themselves at FindMassMoney.gov. The pilot covers only a small slice of accounts and only claims up to $2,500.
Not yet disclosed: what the state is paying LexisNexis for the identity matching, and how the office chose the first 5,000 recipients.
